Description

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated, although there are exceptions. In geology, the term “marble” refers to metamorphosed limestone, but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.
The word “marble” derives from the Ancient Greek μάρμαρον (mármaron), from μάρμαρος (mármaros), “crystalline rock, shining stone”, perhaps from the verb μαρμαίρω (marmaírō), “to flash, sparkle, gleam”; R. S. P. Beekes has suggested that a “Pre-Greek origin is probable.”
Folded and weathered marble at General Carrera Lake, Chile
This stem is also the ancestor of the English word “marmoreal”, meaning “marble-like.”[citation needed] While the English term “marble” resembles the French marbre, most other European languages (with words like “marmoreal”), more closely resemble the original Ancient Greek.